Forget print, banner/Internet or mobile advertising… BMW is taking the advertising to a whole new level.

BMW Germany is literally getting into consumers’ heads, by burning its logo onto the insides of their eyes.

I know, that sounds sort of freaky, but it’s actually quite ingenious.

Using pioneering new “flash projection” technology, BMW is testing a cinema spot in Germany that does not feature a visible logo. Instead, a bright photo flash occurs during the ad, and a few moments later the audience is asked to close its eyes.

At this point, the audience sees an after-image of the brand that has been created by the flash. The letters “BMW” appear before them, in the same way that you might see a bright spot if you had been looking at the sun and then closed your eyes.

Check out the spot in the YouTube video below. Obviously, you won’t get the same effect, but you’ll learn how BMW Germany put the commercial together, and see real-time reactions of the audience.

This has been on my mind ever since the Dawn dish soap commercial (see below) has begun to re-air. I get it, cute animals are being affected by oil spills, and we need to save them. But, if you’ll notice, on the bottom of the screen, it says “simulated demonstration”. I mean obviously they didn’t helicopter-in animals who were affected by an oil spill, to a sound stage that was pre-set with dawn liquid soap bottles and tubs of water, with people dressed in smock-like attire and gloves standing-by. Oh sorry, didn’t mean to burst your bubble.

So, my point is this. Procter & Gamble had this great story line in mind (and yes, it really makes its point) – oil spills are bad for the environment, just look at these animals – but they took these perfectly clean animals and covered them in some black liquidy substance, for the sake of the commercial?! How is that right? And they’re cleaning them with dish soap?